As well as food manufactured by local companies, there are several foods traditionally associated with Yorkshire that have their origins in ingredients from around the world. They are often thought of as local specialties, but would not exist without global trading links elsewhere.
Parkin
Parkin is a ginger cake traditionally eaten around bonfire night. It originated in Yorkshire and was apparently developed as a treat for after the oat harvest each year, particularly in areas where oats were more commonly grown than wheat. It was originally sweetened with honey, but once sugar and molasses (treacle) became commonly imported from plantations in Barbados after 1650, the honey was substituted with treacle to make the cake we are familiar with today. Parkin is also made in Lancashire, with the main difference being that it is made using golden syrup rather than treacle.
Ginger Beer
Ginger beer is a popular soft drink that has been enjoyed for many generations. It was apparently first brewed in the Yorkshire region some time in the seventeenth century. The ginger was one of the spices arriving through the spice trade. It originally grew in South East Asia, and has been around for over 5,000 years with a long history of medicinal use. Later it was imported and cultivated in the Carribbean and other warm climates making it more easily available.
Ginger beer soon became popular and was brewed in more and more places. The basic ingredients are ginger, yeast, sugar and water which need to be left to ferment, similar to how beer is made. Once it became more established it was sold in stoneware bottles, with several local companies in the Leeds area producing it, before it eventually moving to glass bottles and cans that we are more familiar with today.
Ginger beer has long been associated with British culture, particularly through literary characters like Richmal Crompton’s Just William, but is also a popular drink in other parts of the world, paricularly in places such as Jamaica, Trinidad and Australia. Many companies make ginger beer, but as with Yorkshire relish, a whole range of homemade recipes exist and are still used today too.